Why is pH dropping

[Delps8]

Another reading -
1254//5.4

It's easier to add nutes than it is to pump out the res so I added 100 ml nute mixture.

This is nonsense.

 

[DukeO]

One thing for sure is something is not right...

Sounds like it has to do you your nutes in some way.

Have you thought about giving another brand a try?

You can always go back to FF.

I have been using Botanicare Kind in my DWC buckets and it is very stable and clean.

It holds the ph very well.

Get a small sample of Kind and put some z7 with it and odds are your issues will go away.

 

[Delps8]

One thing for sure is something is not right...

Sounds like it has to do you your nutes in some way.

Have you thought about giving another brand a try?

You can always go back to FF.

I have been using Botanicare Kind in my DWC buckets and it is very stable and clean.

It holds the ph very well.

Get a small sample of Kind and put some z7 with it and odds are your issues will go away.

DukeO:

Thanks for the suggestion. I might give them a try over the winter.

It's too late this grow because I pulled the plug on it over the weekend. The buds that had formed were atrophied and it seemed pretty clear that it was in the process of revegging_. That was the coup de grace for me so I drained the res and shut everything.

Over the course of this grow, I used CalMag and pH Up from Botanicare and they've got a great rep so, sure, why not give them a try?

 

[OldSchool1965]

While I can't offer an explanation, I can offer ya a way to monitor and adjust your PH, and other things, automatically. I used to keep saltwater reef tanks. Monitoring and adjusting water quality, temps,additives for coral growth, lighting, etc, can be a daunting task.

I used a Reefkeeper Light controller/monitor ($129.00) and a BRS 2 Part doser ($69.00) to automate my reef system. You can find this stuff at Bulk Reef Supply.

Here's the cool part ...

With this rig you can set timing for lights, ventilation vans for automatic temp control and set a dosing pump to deliver whatever ya want based on a probe reading...in your case...PH. The system monitors PH and will turn on the dosing pump when PH falls below a user set value. With a PPM probe added to the system and another dosing pump ...ya could even automate that.... adding nutes to maintain a user set PPM value. All kinds of stuff become possible.

I'm all about solving the PH problem at the root and not "band-aiding" ... lol ..but, If you've never considered a "monitering system" ... they can save ya alot of time. Very cool gagets...

 

[Delps8]

While I can't offer an explanation, I can offer ya a way to monitor and adjust your PH, and other things, automatically. I used to keep saltwater reef tanks. Monitoring and adjusting water quality, temps,additives for coral growth, lighting, etc, can be a daunting task.

I used a Reefkeeper Light controller/monitor ($129.00) and a BRS 2 Part doser ($69.00) to automate my reef system. You can find this stuff at Bulk Reef Supply.

Here's the cool part ...

With this rig you can set timing for lights, ventilation vans for automatic temp control and set a dosing pump to deliver whatever ya want based on a probe reading...in your case...PH. The system monitors PH and will turn on the dosing pump when PH falls below a user set value. With a PPM probe added to the system and another dosing pump ...ya could even automate that.... adding nutes to maintain a user set PPM value. All kinds of stuff become possible.

I'm all about solving the PH problem at the root and not "band-aiding" ... lol ..but, If you've never considered a "monitering system" ... they can save ya alot of time. Very cool gagets...

OldSchool1965:

Thank you for that info. That looks like a great piece of equipment. I'm thinking of doing a grow this winter so the temperature monitor would be handy and it's even got a wave machine!

For < $200, that looks like money well spent. I did look at setups from hydro vendors and they were expensive enough that I passed on them but $200± is cheap.

I'm all about solving the PH problem at the root and not "band-aiding" .

Agreed - solve the problem, not the symptoms.

Soon after going into flower, my pH started dropping and, during a conversation with Fox Farms tech support, they told me that small drops in pH were expected so I should just add Up. He told me "I wouldn't get worried until I was dropping a full unit in a day." At that point, there's a problem that needs to be addressed.

I got to the point where I was dropping 0.1 per hour and there was no way I was going to just pour in chemicals. Looking back, it appears to be a question of EC being too low. My pH stabilized once I got the EC to 1.2 but, by then, the plant had revegged_ so I pulled the plug.

My thinking now is to start a grow so that I'm in veg in late Oct or early November, and a monitoring system would definitely help reduce the time needed for the care and feeding.

Thanks again.

 

[geeman]

Botanicare products w/ pure rain water is my recipe w/ no PH problems .

 

[Delps8]

Botanicare products w/ pure rain water is my recipe w/ no PH problems .

Thanks for the vote for Botanicare!

I had a good conversation with one of their tech support people and their pH Up is a much better product that General Hydro. Not to knock FF but maybe I'll try Botanicare next time 'round.

 

[geeman]

I have been using Botanicare for 5 years , before that Fox Farms . I'm all in for Botanicare .

 

[Delps8]

I have been using Botanicare for 5 years , before that Fox Farms . I'm all in for Botanicare .

Hmm, that speaks well of Botanicare.

I won't be doing a grow for a little while so I'll make sure to check out their site.

I chose FF because they are a credible firm and they have a good following but that was about it. What was it that made you move from FF to Botanicare?

After riding the pH rollercoaster, the approach that Advanced Nutrients is taking with "don't worry about pH" sounds really good to me.

What's your take on Botanicare vs FF vs AN?

 

[geeman]

I grow indoors . I still use ocean forest soil to start the clones.That being said- the FF Ocean Forest soil left over after grow was a pain to get rid of .Outdoor flower beds can be only so tall . Not needing nutes in in vegging was good for a novice grower using FF. I switched to grow cubes ,air pots and Botanicare the next grow which has been a better grow situation. Botanicare is great for offering products from the clone stage to all the end of the flowering .

 

[Delps8]

Thank. I'll check them out!

 

[Delps8]

One thing for sure is something is not right...

Sounds like it has to do you your nutes in some way.

Have you thought about giving another brand a try?

You can always go back to FF.

I have been using Botanicare Kind in my DWC buckets and it is very stable and clean.

It holds the ph very well.

Get a small sample of Kind and put some z7 with it and odds are your issues will go away.

DukeO:

I revisited this thread because I ran into the same issue with my current grow (after the grow in 2017 reveged, I archived everything until a grow this year).
This time I’m doing GG autos. Everything was smooth as glass during veg but, as of a few weeks ago when the plants started to go to flower, I switched the nute mix from veg to “transition”, as Botanicare calls it. I also upped the PPM from 520 to 5xx (540 or 580, not sure). Things started to get hinky the next day - EC steady but pH falling.
I increased the PPM in 10% increments until I hit 750 and then back down again.
It wasn’t until I dropped to 490 PPM that things returned to normal. The adjustments were so small that I had to switch to the PPM 500 scale. It seems weird that these plants need lighter nutes as they’re starting to flower than they did in veg but they’re happy as can be at 490.
At 490, PPM drops very slowly and pH rises very slowly. When it hit 460 and 5.6, I thought about swinging the pH but decided to add some 630 PPM nutes. The res ended up at 490/500 (the Bluelab was flickering between the two) and it’s been sitting at 490 and 5.8 for over a day.
It would have been nice to have knowledge and/or experience about this back in 2017 but this is how you get experience, eh?

Oh, I’m using Botanicare Kind andam following the Expert track. Second time grower # expert but figured I’d give it a try and it’s worked out OK so far. Dunno if the extra chemicals are worth it - I’ll probably just use the Basic track next time.